Anna Jones was interviewed about co-founding a women-only members' club to promote female entrepreneurship in her high-profile role running the British publishers of Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Men's Health. I decided to quit my job and run the business on my own, and she was wearing a T-shirt. She expressed “female power” with orange block capital letters.
Seven years on, Ms Jones has been appointed as the first female chief executive of the Telegraph's parent company, demonstrating the progress she has championed during a nearly 25-year career in the media business.
Mr. Jones, who friends and former bosses alike describe as an energetic and highly effective executive with a “can-do” mentality, was in what was perhaps the most turbulent period in the right's 169-year history. , Nick Hugh boldly stepped into the suddenly vacant role. National title.
She takes the reins at the prospect of its owners, the Berkeley family, handing over control of the Telegraph to a UAE-backed consortium in a controversial and complex deal.
“She is what I would call a liberal feminist,” said one former colleague. “Blimey, ownership, what’s going on now and what’s coming in, what does she think about that?”
Jones, who grew up in Yorkshire, has been advising the Telegraph's management on its “strategic and commercial growth plans, mergers and acquisitions strategy and leadership development program” since January last year, and has had a lot of time to reflect on its predicament. there were.
After leaving Hearst, where she worked for more than five years, including three years as CEO, she co-founded a women-only networking venture, Allbright, and on International Women's Day 2018, she inaugurated her first private membership in London's Mayfair. Opened a club.
Albright is named after former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who once said, “There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.”
Mr. Jones, who took a seven-year break from running a major media business, lists his resume as co-founder of WJV, a boutique investment firm that “advances diversity, health and economic empowerment,” and as a seed-funding investment committee member. It is packed with roles and tasks such as committee chairman. In her business, Mercuri, she holds a part-time role as a changemaker for UN Women UK and is on the board of the Creative Industries Federation.
Now the 48-year-old, who is allergic to apples and lists her interests as Pilates, baking and children, has gone from being an entrepreneur to one of the most high-profile roles in British media. The change has been an interesting move, with Jones describing himself in a previous interview as an impatient person, with a slow pace that means implementing change is like “converting a tanker.” They have expressed dissatisfaction with the corporate structure, which is not moving forward.
Still, she continues to maintain her place in the big leagues. She is currently a non-executive director of Universal Music, the world's largest music company, but previously she was a non-executive director of Telecom Italy.
These roles were held by her boss at the time, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, who ran Hearst's European operations and was chief executive of the vast French media conglomerate Vivendi, which owns shares in both companies. This is also the result of working with him.
“Reinventing a media brand is a hell of a journey,” says de Puyfontaine, who successfully promoted Mr Jones, who moved from London to Paris in 2014, to succeed Hearst UK.
“She is a very energetic, motivated and driven person with very good management skills, which I am a huge fan of. Nothing will stop her entrepreneurial energy from driving one of the UK's media brands forward. [what] new ownership [want]”
Having spent most of his career in the magazine industry, Jones is well aware of the digital challenges facing the Telegraph. From 2000, she worked at Emap as her marketing manager for the “Women's Group” titled Grazia, More and Top Sante, where she worked for five years.
She then moved to Hachette Filipacchi, which publishes magazines and websites such as Elle, Red and Digitalspy.com, where she was promoted to the role of Digital and Strategy Director. Hearst acquired Hachette in 2011, and Ms. Jones became chief operating officer of the expanded company, before she became chief executive in 2014.
“I really enjoyed working with her,” says an editorial executive at her former employer. “She was very bright, practical, encouraging and wanted everyone to be more entrepreneurial in their businesses.”
Jones is aware of the widespread uproar and negative feedback surrounding ownership in the Telegraph newsroom, and said in her appointment that the wellbeing of employees remains a priority for her. suggested.
“While the ownership change process has meant the business is operating in uncertain times, the title continues to thrive and my role is focused on ensuring certainty for our staff, subscribers and partners. ” she said.
